


Ash Of Vengeance

by ChloboShoka



Category: Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-04-14 12:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4564287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloboShoka/pseuds/ChloboShoka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ash Ketchum is jailed for a brutal murder he didn't commit. When he is released, he teams up with the victim's family to seek revenge on the the true culprit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keeping Mum

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters used are copyright to their original owners of their original fandoms. I am borrowing the characters simply for this fan fiction.

Ash had been travelling with a young woman in Obida named April. When she lost her job as a secretary, she decided to travel around the world and live an expensive lifestyle. Ash had recently attended a pokemon convention in Obida that hosted a variety of tournaments. He managed to win one of the tournaments and come out with a large cash prize.

Ash remembered seeing April out and about when he was a kid in Pallet Town. She was a friend of Molly Hale, someone that Ash had known for all his life. April also claimed to be pen pals with Serena. He knew that some of his old friends were at the convention, but he never got the chance to speak to any of them as it was such a big hall.

From the surface, April appeared to be a warm and bubbly woman. Her pink hair always matched her equally bright pink clothes with huge heart-shaped buttons. Her voice was high and squeaky and she had plans to become a nurse. April didn't attend the convention as she said there was not enough shopping stalls that took her fancy.

April owned a slyveon named Pinkie that she owned as a pet. She would often spoil creatures of any kind, even if they weren't pokemon to a variety of puffins that she buys from the market. She treated them all as if they were her own babies. At times Pikachu didn't like being squeezed by her large chest but overall, April seemed like a nice girl.

Ash was walking back from to the hotel when he took the elevator to his room. It was only him, Pikachu and another lady in there. Pikachu had not long woken up from a snooze as he leaned against Ash's neck.

"The convention was great, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm sure April will love to know about it."

"Excuse me," the woman said. "You remind me of somebody. Any chance you're related to Delia?"

"Yeah," Ash replied. "That's my mom!"

"I went to school with your mom," The woman explained. "We were in the same class in third grade. She was a really clever and kind. By the way my name is Nancy. My youngest son is the same age as you."

"Is he a pokemon trainer like me?" Ash asked.

"Not really," Nancy said. "Both of my sons own digimon. They do like pokemon though, especially T.K. Do you know what a digimon is?" Ash shook his head. He felt really dumb as he felt like he should know, but he didn't have a clue. Are they simular to pokemon or were they different? He shook his head as Nancy smiled at him. "Well in some ways there are similar to pokemon; they are many kinds of digimon, some good and some bad. All digimon can talk whilst most pokemon can only say their name. The real difference between a digimon and a pokemon is when a digimon evolves it can de-evolve back to it's original state whilst once a pokemon evolves it stays as it is. But both pokemon and digimon can share bonds with the world to make it a better place."

"That sounds really cool."

"It is cool," Nancy replied. "I'm so proud of both of my sons for saving the world many times." The elevator pinged and the door opened. "Oh this is my floor." She closed her eyes and waved. "It was nice talking to you. Tell your mom I said hi next time you hear from her."

"Okay, goodnight, Nancy."

As the elevator closed, Pikachu jumped onto the floor and picked something up with his mouth.

"What's up Pikachu?" Ash asked. He crouched down and found a sparkling diamond in Pikachu's mouth. Pikachu opened his mouth and placed the ring in Ash's hand. He swapped the ring for a pair of keys. "This ring? Could this belong to Nancy?" Ash quickly tried to push the button to open the door and the doors swung open on the same floor that Nancy had left. "Pikachu, go back to the hotel room!" Ash ordered as he leapt out of the elevator and began running in the corridor following the clanks of high heels. "I'll be back in a bit."

Ash halted at sound of two slash. Something wet splashed on Ash's cheek. He faced the open hotel door and heard a clash on the floor. Trembling, he walked into the room. The smell of fresh blood overwhelmed him as yelled at the sight of a chopped up corpse. It was Nancy, the woman he had spoken to on the lift. His first instinct was to go over to the body, doing so got him covered in blood. He stood up and looked around. The door had closed and in the corner of the room was April walking over to the body and as forced Ash to grip the sword in his hand.

As Ash was about to scream, April gagged him with a gun. "Your mom is in my car," April whispered to Ash. "If you want your precious mom to live, you must confess to killing Nancy. And if you're found guilty then I will free her, but it you are found not guilty then I will kill everyone that is precious to you." April giggled. "Oh Ash, you're such a silly boy."

Ash froze to the spot, only polluting his clothes in Nancy's blood more as April walked out of the room. Ash burst into years and in Nancy's blood he wrote with his fingers: I have lost my mind. He panted as he crashed into the bathroom with the sword in his hand. He tossed it into the bath tub and washed used the soap to wash his hands and the soap. No matter how hard he tried to wash the blood, the red remains. He panicked. He had just lost everything including his sanity within a few minutes. All of his dreams and everything he had worked to achieved had been crushed. He had been betrayed, as much as he wanted to kill himself, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had to be guilty to save his mother.

Ash woke up to the site of bars and grey walls. He knew that he had been arrested for Nancy's murder. He only prayed that Pikachu and his mother were safe. He had only known April for a few weeks, and he had put her whole faith in her, but now he can't but his faith in anyone. He didn't care if he was going to be sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit, he wanted to know about his pokemon and how his mother was, and there was nobody about apart from a guard who stood awake on the spot.

His head was ringing and his heart was pulsing. Two people came into the room. A giant man in a trench coat, and a slender woman with blue hair and a whip. "Mr. Ketchum," the man said. "I'm Detective Gumshoe, and this is Franziska von Karma, the prosecutor in charge of the case. Do you know why you're here?"

Ash nodded. "I killed Nancy."

"You've been placed under arrest for the murder of Nancy Takaishi," Franziska confirmed. "When we arrived at One A.M we found you sleeping next to Nancy's body."

"Where is my mom?" Ash asked.

"I'm afraid we've been unable to contact her," Gumshoe replied. He lowered his head. "If you would like an adult to be with you or if you want to hire a defence attorney."

"I don't want a defence attorney," Ash muttered. "You guys know I killed her. Why don't you put me on trial right now. Give the guilty verdict and get it over and done with!" Ash slammed his fist. The quicker he admitted defeat, the quicker April would be able to release his mother into safety. Ash could tell from the look of Gumshoe's face that he wanted to cry. "We can't just chuck you into prison like that, Pal... We need to go through the proper procedures. We need to get the facts."

"Mr. Ketchum," Franziska hissed. "You must co-operate with us. I am going to ask you questions. Your statements must be factual and not contradict with the evidence we have. In Miss Takaishi's bathroom we found the murder weapon in the bathtub." Franziska presented the katana with diluted blood wrapped in a plastic bag. "It has your fingerprints and the victim's blood on it. Who gave you the sword?"

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "Found it in her room."

"I have already interviewed both of her sons," Franziska hissed. "They know nothing about the sword. Which concludes that the sword doesn't belong to her. And there is no way you could have just found it in her room. Either somebody gave it to you or someone bought it for you."

"Was there somebody with you?" Gumshoe asked. "Did somebody hire you to kill Miss Takaishi or did you witness the crime. We can't help you if you don't know the truth. But you're the prime suspect. You were the last person to see her alive."

"I TOLD YOU I KILLED HER AND THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!" Ash yelled. Whilst the hot questions were being thrown at him, all he could picture in his head was April killing his mother in many different ways. Even though it was killing him inside, he knew that he couldn't win. He broke down into tears, he looked up at Franziska and said, "WHY WOULD I CONFESS TO A MURDER I DIDN'T COMMIT? WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?"

"Tell me where the sword comes from?" Franziska said. She was about to grab her whip, but Gumshoe intervened.

"He's only fifteen..."

"I found it in the trash can," Ash snapped. "I can't remember which trash can, there's so many."

"Are you sure you didn't have any accomplices that assisted you?" Gumshoe asked Ash.

"I was alone."

"What was your motive?" Franziska asked Ash.

Ash squinted at Franziska. "Huh? Motive?"

"Why did you kill Miss Takaishi?" Franziska rephrased her question. "Is it because her sons were part of the original digidestined? Are you against digimon?"

"Digi-What?" Ash shouted, shaking his head. "No I'm not against digimon at all. In fact I've never met one. Anyway this has got nothing to do with the case. She talked about her sons and the differences between pokemon and digimon, but that was it."

"What are her sons names?" Franziska asked. 

Ash shrugged his shoulders again. "I don't know... Tom and Jerry?"

Franziska shook her head and presented a picture of Nancy and her two sons. Nancy was sandwiched by her two sons with her arms around their shoulders. The taller one had more messier hair whilst the shorter one wore a white hat. Franziska had her finger on the boy with the hat, "This is T.K, the youngest son." Her finger swayed to the other boy in the picture. "This is Matt, her oldest son."

Ash couldn't believe how much the boys resembled their mother. Ash opened his mouth and buried his face with his hands. Then he remembered Nancy's ring. The ring wasn't on her finger in the photo. "The ring..." Ash mumbled.

"Is that your motive?" Gumshoe gasped. "Miss Takaishi's engagement ring?"

"That's it," Ash nodded. Every lie weather big or small was grinding his headache. With every lie, he was creating more lies to back up his other lies. "I killed her for the ring. I was going to give it to someone very special."

"You're a famous pokemon master!" Gumshoe roared. "You've got everything a pokemon trainer could ever have. Why would you throw it all away like this?"

"Fame isn't everything," Ash sobbed. "Sometimes it just eats you up. That why I wrote that message in Nancy's blood because I have lost my mind." He had to change the topic. "Where are my pokemon?"

"Your pokemon are back in Kanto," Gumshoe responded. "Your friend, Misty is looking after them."

Ash smiled to himself. Pikachu and the gang would be save with her.


	2. Keep The Hope

"Pikachu... I don't want you here. It's not that I don't miss you it's just that prison isn't the place for you."

Pikachu was having none of it. The electric pokemon had been by Ash's side since the beginning of his journey. Ash knew that Pikachu was not going to leave until Ash was released. Pikachu was begging Ash to ask for parole, but Ash shook his head. Ash remembered that Pikachu knew nothing about the deal that he had made with April. He didn't even know if April had even kept to her part of the promise.

Ash wanted to pour out his heart and soul. The fact that he could no bring himself to tell Pikachu what really happened the day that Nancy died was killing him inside. He had visions of April with a pistol pierced under Pikachu's chin. He shook his head. He didn't want to take the risk of losing his one best friend. He felt as if Pikachu was all that he had left.

"I have nothing left," Ash hissed. "I'm not going to drag you down, Pikachu. You should go out and enjoy yourself. Don't worry about me. Nobody will visit me after what I've done. Not even Misty. Why would she want to love a murderer?"

Ash had another visitor, but it wasn't anyone that he was expecting. He knew it was one of Nancy's sons because of how much the young man resembled her. It was T.K., the one that Nancy spoke great pride in. Behind him was another guy around his age with goggles and auburn hair dressed in sporty clothes. Ash couldn't believe that Davis, the cousin that he hadn't seen in years had come to visit him. By the angry look on his face, Ash could tell that the visit wasn't going to be pleasant.

"D-Davis?" Ash murmured. "What are you doing here?"

"Let me do the talking," T.K. hissed at Davis. Both guys marched towards the glass walls keeping Ash apart from them as T.K. sat down. T.K. didn't take long to speak his mind. He glared at Ash. "I want to know why you killed my mom?"

"For the ring," Ash snapped as he folded his arms and closed his eyes. Pikachu cried out in anger as it jumped in the air. Pikachu was trying to shout out:  _stop! He's innocent! He didn't do it!_

"Ash," Davis yelled as he banged his fist against the glass wall. "You haven't changed one bit: you're full of shit."

"You killed mom over a ring?" T.K. asked. "My parents divorced when I was younger, but we were going to be a family again." T.K. burst into tears. "And you took that away from me because you wanted a ring?"

"With all that money you earned as a trainer, you could have bought your own ring?" Davis yelled.

"There have been bad digimon in the past," T.K. continued. "But not once has there ever been a case were a digimon has ever harmed a pokemon. So I don't understand why you'd do this to us. We've done nothing wrong." T.K. stormed out of the room and Davis followed him. Ash could just about faintly hear what they were saying.

"Don't take this the wrong way T.K," Davis said. "But you need to understand that Aunt Delia's side of the family had a lot of problems."

"All families have problems!"

"I'm serious! Aunt Delia has been battling depression for years. My uncle runs a criminal gang and my other cousin is a thief. I'm pretty sure Ash is handicapped."

"That doesn't justify anything," T.K. yelled. "Nothing is going to bring my mom back. But something doesn't feel right."

They never came out after that.

The next would day would be another day filled with military styled discipline with many routines. Being told how to talk, walk, eat, drink, sleep and shit. Severe punishments went out to those who broke the rules. Ash scrubbed his cell clean every morning. The screens, mats, floors and toilet were cleaner than he ever would be. After chores there was showers and baths, daily exercise and factory work.

Eight hours a day spent in the prison factories producing Hello Kitty toys. The shift was always done in complete silence with a guard carefully worst part of prison was the social isolation. He sees all the prisoners and guards every day but it was only rare occasions of social activity. It was as if they were all robots. The resident pervert, Shin Chan was the only one brave enough to rebel.

Ash was getting more exhausted as he got closer to his release date. He knew that he had to persevere if he ever wanted to see his family and friends again. He began to sleep better at night with the fond memories of his pokemon journey comforting him. It didn't stop Ash's desire for revenge on April. He was determined more than ever to end her life. He would not find peace until April May was six feet under.

* * *

Seeing Misty for the first time in ages was a big blow for Ash. He wanted to be happy, but Ash knew there was nothing to be happy about. He contained his emotions and bit his lip. Before prison, he used to think that his life was perfect, but seeing Misty made him realize that even before he met April, his life had been far from perfect. He pushed his head against his hands and his fingernails clawed into his forehead. He had spent his whole life in denial and it was too late to fix it. He knew if he had found out sooner that he wouldn't be in jail.

"Why didn't you reply to my letters?" Misty shouted. "Are you blanking me out?"

"What letters?" Ash asked. He shrugged his shoulders as he didn't know anything about any letters. He thought that running away would have made Misty's life better. And to find that he had only made it worse made him want to cry.

"I've sent hundreds," Misty sighed. "Did you not get them?"

Ash shook his head. "I never got any letters."

"I'm sorry I didn't get to see you sooner," Misty said in a more calmer voice. "I knew I should have come and spoken to you face to face about it. It's not right for them to do this."

"They know that I don't deserve them," Ash muttered.

"Don't be silly," Misty yelled. "Of course you deserve them. I know that you didn't kill that woman."

"A court of law found me guilty," Ash announced. "I've done the crime, and now I'm doing the time."

"That's only because them lawyers didn't do their job properly," Misty yelled. "They don't care about the truth. As long as they win and get money that's all that matters to them. It's the dark age of the law, Ash and I'm not letting you rot in prison for a crime you didn't commit. My daughter needs her father."

Ash lifted his head up and gasped. "Daughter?" Misty took out her phone and showed a picture of a baby with eyes the colour of the sky. Ash could see how the baby's eyes resembled his own. "What's her name?"

"Delta."

A picture of his daughter brought back tainted memories of the time where Ash consulted April for help. He wanted advise on how to make Misty happy. April teased him and told him that he had no idea how to treat a lady and if they travelled alone together that she would help him. Ash couldn't believe how stupid he was to fall for her. April had used him all this time and she had no intention of ever being his friend.

"I don't want her to see her here," Ash cried out. "Prison is no place for a baby." His face became red as tears exploded from the corners of his eyes. "I deserve to be sentenced to death! How can Delta grow up with a father as a murderer."

**VISITING HOURS ARE OVER! PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR CELLS.**

 

"I'm going to get you out of this mess," Misty promised. "I know that you're covering for somebody, and I'm going to find out who!" Misty slammed against the glass. Ash wished the glass would fall so that she could touch him. "You haven't changed Ash, you're still the hero that I fell in love with."


	3. Killer Eyes

Chapter Three: Killer Eyes

A former musician, Taki Aizawa said to Ash, "You shouldn't be here, you don't have killer eyes."

"Killer eyes?" Ash asked. "I killed somebody, I deserve to be here."

Taki chuckled. "Believe me, I know an innocent person when I see one." He closed his eyes and smiled. Ash didn't know what Taki meant by the killer eyes. What puzzled Ash the most was how Taki, a complete stranger knew that he was innocent. "You were obviously stitched up." He let out his hand for a shake. "The name's Taki Aizawa. Nice to meet you, Ash Ketchum."

"How do you know my name?" Ash asked.

"You're quite the celebrity," Taki replied. "Everyone here knows who you are. Everyone seems to have forgotten all the good things you've done for this world. Heroes don't just kill a random woman for no reason."

"What are you talking about?" Ash chimed in.

"Your friend April was a criminal," Taki explained. Ash jumped from the edge of his seat. As soon as he mentioned the traitor's name, he was reminded of her sweet smile and deadly intentions. "When my band broke up, she broke up with me and planted drugs in my apartment. You know you're not the only victim of hers. I doubt you'll be the last."

"I'm not a victim," Ash snarled. He clenched his fist as his eyes pierced at Taki. "April... was never my girlfriend. Misty was my girlfriend."

"Why did you run away with April and not Misty?" Taki was not even the slightest scared. Ash looked away and refused to talk. "You can trust me, we're all equal here."

"She better not have harmed my mum," Ash scoffed. He banged his fist on the table and slammed his head. "And if he even tries to harm any of my friends... I'm gonna teach her a lesson she'll never forget!"

"You're planning to get revenge on her?" Taki quizzed. Ash looked up and saw more his fellow inmates circling around him. He was even more surprised to see his old friend, Ritchie in the corner.

"Ritchie!"

"Ash! Ritchie cried out. "That April, she framed me too!"

Ash had realised that many people were a victim of April's vicious charms and Taki eventually told him that she had been in prison herself for tapping somebody's telephone and also for perverting the cause of justice. Together with her former employer they had driven people to madness and even suicide with their ruthless methods of blackmailing.

"We all want to know your experience with April," Taki requested as he lied back on the floor. "We're all ears."

"April was a friend of a friend," Ash started. "I was travelling alone and I bumped into her. She wanted to tag along with me, so I said sure, I didn't think anything of it. She seemed trustworthy and I used to see her around in Pallet Town. She was so kind to me,

"Did you sleep with her?" Shin Chan asked. "Did you get to touch her boobs? Where they big?"

"Shin Chan!" Ritchie gasped in disgust. "That was not appropriate!"

"We never shared the same room," Ash responded. "Besides, my girlfriend was pregnant."

"Wait," the tallest man spoke, finishing off his cigarette. "You get your girlfriend then go off with another woman? That's just pathetic."

"Take no notice of him," Taki told Ash. "Eiri has always been a cold-hearted bastard. I always knew he was a killer but nobody believed me until it was too late."

"I haven't got time for your bullshit," Eiri hissed and stormed off.

"I know I reacted badly," Ash admitted. "But I was so scared because I knew in my head and in my heart that I wasn't ready to be a father. The day I bumped into April, I told her that I felt alone and scared. Being a father would be one of the hardest things I ever done. She said that if I travelled with her that she would promise me to teach me how to treat a lady. She never really taught me anything but I enjoyed her company. Two weeks later I went to a convention in Obida. On the way home I spoke to a lady called Nancy. Both of her sons were part of the original chosen children to go out and save the digital world. Her ring fell off her finger... I went to return it. Went to her room and found Nancy chopped up."

"Ash..." Ritchie stuttered. "That's terrible."

"My first instinct was to run to Nancy," Ash continued. He still felt the shivers going down his spine. The more he talked about it, the more vividly he could recall the blood and felt as if he was going through the betrayal all over again. "April make me hold the sword. She said that my mom was in her car and that if I didn't confess to Nancy's murder that she would kill my mom. I haven't heard anything about my mom since coming here but I've seen Misty and a picture of Delta."

"Who's Delta?" Ritchie asked.

"My daughter."

"If only there was something I could do," Taki admitted. "Then I could help you teach that bitch a lesson she'll never forget."

"April tried to kill herself," Ritchie said. "She did it to frame me for murder. I've got twelve more years before I'm out of here. Sometimes I wish I could just die."

"Don't be silly," Ash snapped. "As soon as I'm released I'm going to find a way to clear your name."

"Ash," Ritchie smiled. "I'm surprised. Prison changes people, but somehow it's hardly changed you at all. You've still got a future ahead of you. You've got a family to go back to and even a career. I'm sure you'll have no problem entering the pokemon league. You were only charged with manslaughter... trainers convicted or murder or attempted murder get their trainer's license taken away. They took all my pokemon away. I lost everything thanks to her."

Ash clenched his fists and yelled, "I'll make sure April May will pay for her actions. I'm going to put a stop to her evil doings. She makes Team Rocket look like a bunch of saints."

"You are one of the most dumbest guys I've ever met," Shin Chan barked as he walked back to his cell. He swiftly turned around and winked at Ritchie. "Hey Ritchie, we've got some catching up to do. You better meet me in the shower room tonight."

"Sure," Ritchie muttered.

* * *

When Ritchie went to meet Shin Chan, Ash tiptoed behind him from a distance. He held his breathe at every opportunity so could not be heard. Ash was mortified to see Shin Chan with no clothes on as the bathroom floor as Ritchie stepped closer towards Shin Chan.

Shin Chan sighed. "You know Ritchie, I really miss life outside prison."

"Is that what you wanted to meet me here for?" Ritchie gulped.

"I enjoyed the fabulous life of hooking up, getting drunk, sleeping all day and doing it all over again."

"Where are you heading this?"

Ash was also curious to what was going on. He didn't like the sound of it. His stomach churned as Shin Chan invited Ritchie into the bathtub without giving him time to shower. Ash gasped in horror by the way that Shin Chan had fondled Ritchie. Before Ash knew it, Ritchie was naked too. Ash closed his eyes at that point but he could hear and understand what was happening.

Ash couldn't hold back his anger any more. He snatched the nearest towel he could find, then charged over to the bathtub and hooked the towel around the rapist's neck. Ash strangled Shin Chan out of all his oxygen. As soon as Ash was aware that he was dead, he chucked the towel into the large bathtub as the corpse floated freely with his ass facing the ceiling.

"I'm sorry," Ash whispered. "I should have acted sooner."

"Don't worry," Ritchie smiled. "Thanks for saving me. Listen, when the police get involved, I'm the one who's going to confess to murdering him."

Ash gasped. He never even considered the consequences of his actions. Having one of his best friends raped in front of him was something he couldn't tolerate. The guy deserved it as far as Ash was concerned. "What about my promise?" Ash cried out.

"Like I said before," Ritchie insisted. "You have a future outside of prison: I have nothing left to lose. You better go. Just pretend you never came. I'll sort this out."

Ash crawled back then dashed off back to his cell. He was lucky that the guards never caught him running or else he would have been severely punished. His heart was beating faster than his loose feet as he felt growing rage trapped within his body. He threw himself on his bed, leaving the door wide open. He tossed and turned around the cell, but couldn't comprehend anything.

"Ash..." It was Taki's voice. Ash sat himself up and gazed into his eyes. Taki opened his mouth. "WHOA! Where did you get those from?"

Ash searched himself then his head spun around the room. "Get what?"

"You've got them now," Taki expressed. "The killer eyes."

Ash took a quick glance at the mirror. He squinted and raised his eyebrows. "Uhm... they look the same to me."

"Tell me who's dead?"

Ash smirked. "You'll find out soon enough."

* * *

The guards found Ritchie dragging Shin Chan's body during one of their routine checks. Ritchie was charged with his murder and transferred to death row. Ritchie would have been executed by the time Ash was released. Ritchie's ultimate sacrifice haunted Ash for the rest of his sentence. With every day that had passed, he resented April just a little more.

Ash was already making plans on how to turn his hatred into actions.


	4. Forgiveness

 

Ash was so nervous about T.K's visit that his breathing became rapid and shallow. He kept his chin down. With his head pounding and butterflies churning in his stomach, there was no way to hide his emotions. Even after T.K's visit, Ash knew that he would never get a peaceful night's sleep again. Ritchie's persistence in taking the fall for Ash had only made the day slower. But now Ash was now officially a murderer, his lies would have more conviction. Ash's baggy blue uniform covered his entire body, but he still felt naked. Beyond the glass, Ash witnessed the drumming of T.K's fingers. Each tap echoed in time with Ash's heartbeat. His face had just as much tension as his own.

"What brings you here?" Ash asked as he noticed that T.K.'s eyes were large and watery. He never noticed the young girl sitting next to T.K. "Why would you want to see me? And who's this girl you've brought with you?"

"My name's Kari," the brunette said. "Davis has told me all about you."

"Davis not coming then?" Ash asked.

Kari shook her head. "Davis is at work at the moment. He asked me to come instead." Kari gasped as her palm reached out against the wall and squinted her eyes. Ash assumed that Kari didn't want to look deep into the eyes of a killer, but T.K. quickly became startled.

"What's the matter, Kari?" T.K. asked.

"Can't you see it?" Kari squealed.

"See what?"

"The light!" Kari yelled. "The light shining on Ash's face."

"I can't see any light," T.K. admitted.

"I understand," Ash muttered. "She doesn't want to see a killer."

Kari placed her arms by her side. "Maybe I'm seeing things." Kari kept her eyes on Ash. "For a moment I saw that you were glowing like an angel. A really sad angel."

"Angel?" Ash gasped. "If I was an angel, I'm not one anymore. There was no justice in my actions. For the first few moments I thought I was in complete power... but now I feel empty. I owe a debt that I will never be able to pay." Ash took a deep sigh as the thought a tight rope clinging onto Ritchie's swinging body. "My friend was executed today," Ash whispered. Just thinking of Ritchie made his bones chill. Ash decided that it was not the right time to tell them the truth. T.K. and Kari may appear sweet, but what if the forgiveness was also a trap. What if they had plans of revenge of their own. He planned to keep his secrets and true intentions hidden until after his release. "Someone made a false rape accusation against him. He was being raped in prison. He killed one of his assailants out of self defence."

Kari gasped. "Oh Ash... I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Yeah," T.K. said. "That's terrible."

"I'm losing all the people I care about," Ash responded. "Who's going to be next? I guess that's how karma works."

"You used to have a really good reputation," Kari reminded Ash. "You were my cousin's mentor. You saved the world and done endless good deeds for the pokemon community. You still have goodness inside you. You just need to get out of the darkness."

"I'll never understand why you took my mother from this world," T.K. admitted. "But I've made the decision that I'm going to forgive you." He was still visibly shaken by the loss of his mother.

"I think you're doing the right thing," Kari told T.K. as she gripped onto his hand. "I think your mom would have wanted this. When you come out of jail, maybe could show you the digital world."

"I don't deserve your kindness," Ash whispered. "Besides, I have already made other plans."

"Plans for what?" T.K. asked.

"Redemption," Ash lied. "I want to find my mom again and spend time with my family." The more Ash spoke, the more he found that he was actually telling the truth. "My girlfriend is living without her partner and my daughter is living without a father."

"That's the spirit," Kari said. "I think Davis will be very happy with your decision. I know he's hot-headed but Davis really cares about you. And we're Davis' best friends and we've all got to look out for each other."

"She's right," T.K. said. It was the first time Ash had ever seen him smile in real life. "I think by forgiving you, I can finally move on with my life. I feel a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders."

* * *

 

"This is the NHK news with Keiko Momoi!" the television blasted as the screen zoomed in on a tall lady with pigtails and glasses. The green microphone was held at the level of her lips, her hands covered in black cotton to match her large coat.

"We are live outside Abashiri Prison," Keiko announced. "Home to the worst criminals in Japan. Ten years ago, 15-year-old Ash Ketchum was found guilty of manslaughter. Nancy Takaishi's death was so brutal that Ash was charged and trailed as an adult. Ash was originally charged with murder but the charge was brought to manslaughter as the court found that Ash's mental health was poor. Today is the day that Ash Ketchum will be released."

Nancy's eldest son, Matt Ishida slouched on the couch with his wife, Sora and his two children. The children hopped off from the sofa as soon as the camera turned over to T.K.

"Hey look Daddy!" The female toddler shouted. "It's Uncle T.K!"

"I think I can see Auntie Kari at the back too." Matt's son screeched.

"Are you sure you're okay watching this?" Sora asked Matt. She reached over and clutched the TV remote. "Isn't this going to upset you?"

Matt shook his head and gulped. "I'm fine," he muttered. "I think the kids have a right to know who Ash is and what he did to their grandmother."

"With me is Nancy's son, T.K. Takaishi." Keiko's cold face turned towards T.K. as the cameras rolled over to him. "Now Mr. Takaishi, you've chosen to forgive Mr. Ketchum for his terrible crime. What inspired you to make such a difficult decision."

"WHAT!" Matt yelled through the screen. "T.K. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"I chose to forgive Ash because I don't think he's a bad person," T.K. replied.

Matt slammed his fist against the arm of the sofa. He gritted his teeth and his eyes were so scary that the kids ran and returned to their room. Even Sora pushed herself away from him. "THAT MANIPULATING BASTARD!" Matt growled. "I swear to god if that man EVER comes near my family again... I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Matt calm down!" Sora demanded. "Look! You've scared the kids away." Matt looked around and then faced the TV again. The cameras then zoomed in towards a short man hugging his ginger girlfriend and young daughter. They zoomed in further past the other paparazzi and visitors outside the prison. The closer they zoomed him the more obvious it was to Matt that the small man was Ash Ketchum. "He hasn't changed one bit since going in prison!" Sora exclaimed. "He's in his late 20's but still looks like a kid from high school."

"Here he is!"Keiko said. "Mr. Ash Ketchum is free at last. His girlfriend, Misty Waterflower has always protested his innocence. There is no doubt that Miss Waterflower's life has been very difficult with running the gym, raising her daughter and also her nieces and nephews."

"I bet she's next," Matt hissed. "He wasn't in prison long enough. People get jailed for years simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then stupid punks like him get ten years for killing my mom. Sora, I just feel so disgusted with the whole system. I will get justice for mom, one way or another. Even if I have to do it in my own hands."

"I wonder if they ever found Ash's mom?" Sora asked. "T.K. said that he felt sorry for him because his mother vanished without a trace."

"Ash gets no sympathy from me," Matt responded. "Doesn't give him the right to do what he did to our mom."

"Ash has completed his path to redemption," Keiko continued. Her high pitched voice grated into Matt's ear even when he turned the volume down. "He looked after new inmates, donated a kidney to a man falsely convicted of terrorism, and prevented many from committing suicide. Even behind bars, Ash did heroic things."

Matt switched off the television screen and buried his head in his hands. "Has that news reporter got amnesia or something? That man is a killer. He never was and never will be a hero. He's taking advantage of everyone and everything. He may have tricked everyone else, but not me."


	5. Preparations

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Misty snapped as she glared at Ash at the other side of the table. Their daughter, Delta was distracted by Politoad in the corner of the lounge. "You need to tell me who framed you and why?"

"I know who did it," Ash muttered. He closed his eyes as he struggled to look up to his family. "I just can't say..."

"Why not?" Misty asked. She bounced over to the chair closest to Ash and gripped his shoulders. "You lost ten years of your life to some low life. The least you can do is tell me."

"I can't tell you," Ash continued to whisper. With each word he spoke, his voice became softer. "It will ruin the surprise."

"Was it one of your friends? A member of Team Rocket?" Misty demanded to know. Ash knew that Misty was not going to give up until she got the information out of him. She was a feisty as the red streaks in her hair: it excited him. "And what's this surprise that you're going on about?"

"You wouldn't understand," Ash admitted. "And I have to go. There's so many things I need to do. I'll never be able to live unless I find out what happened to Mom." "I've been doing everything I can to clear your name," Misty reminded Ash. He tried to walk away, but Misty wouldn't let him, of course. She only held on to her closer than ever.

"I'm sorry I can't bring your mother back." Misty gently rubbed Ash's cheek. "But you have to move on. You've got me, Delta, Pikachu and everybody. You've got a future ahead of you. Besides, where would you go?"

"To find her," Ash murmured. "I want to make sure that they won't get to you."

"Don't you like me? Delta cried. "I've waited all my life to see you, but you only want to spend a day with me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" Ash yelled. "I love you very much, it's just that I need to find my mom."

"I understand," Delta said, frowning as her eyes rolled to the floor. "A life without a father is also very hard."

Ash could immense thumping in his head as pain grinded his stomach. With a heavy heart he kissed Delta on the cheek and dragged his feet as he forced himself towards the nearest exit. He didn't want to leave his girlfriend and daughter, but if he stayed with them, he had a gut feeling that their life would be in danger. He wanted redemption and he wanted revenge, but his desires would be worthless if his family were harmed.

"Why are you following me?" Ash asked Pikachu. The electric mouse screeched in his ear and he slapped each side of his head. "I know family should come first, but April will kill them if I stay there, I just know she will. I'm going back to Odaiba. I need to speak to Nancy's family."

By the time Ash had reached Odaiba, it was already midnight. By pure convenience, Matt Ishida was taking a quiet stroll round the park after buying some groceries. Ash called Matt as he threw himself in front of him. Matt's look of horror and anger had proven to be a dangerous mistake. Ash knew that it was going to be a rough start, but he didn't mind.

It wasn't the first time Ash's life had been put in danger. It wasn't going to be the last either. Matt's hot fist felt like a breeze compared to the fights with eccentric inmates and punishment from the sadistic prison officers. No matter where Matt punched him, Ash would bounce back and throw another punch five times harder. It didn't take long before Matt surrendered by guarding his face.

Pikachu intervened by letting out thunderbolts from his tiny red cheeks. The punch-up had ceased as both men lied down next to each other, panting for any oxygen they could get.

"Why are you here?" Matt growled. "You don't deserve to be here after what you've done!"

"I know," Ash sighed. "And I'm going to make it right."

"How?" Matt roared. "You took her away from me."

"At least let me kill the bitch that really did it..."

"Huh?" Matt rolled over and picked himself up from the floor. "You're changing your story now? I really wish I could kill you, but unlike you, I have better things to do."

"Let me finish!" Ash demanded.

"Leave me alone!" Matt screamed. "Or else I will actually kill you."

Ash allowed Matt to walk away. If Matt wouldn't listen to him, then perhaps T.K. or Davis would be able to. But with no evidence that he was truly innocent, there wasn't a lot that Ash could do other than try and track April May down. She had been training to be a nurse, she wanted to be a nurse in Odaiba hospital. Ash felt a sparkling idea fizz in his head. He watched Matt get into his black Mercedes and waited in the middle of the road, he knew that Matt would be happy to hospitalise him. The sound of a car screeching forced Ash's eyelids to close.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Matt yelled. Ash said nothing as he pounced on the car's roof. The car did a full turn so fierce that it pushed Ash to crash onto the brick road as Matt sped away without a trace.

Ash had high risks and big rewards in mind. Coincidence was once again in his favour when he woke up in hospital. April May, the nurse that Ash was so delighted to see was the one that was giving him patient care. Ash smiled, feeling no sense of pain at all. April was going to fall for his little trap just as he had fallen for her traps a decade ago.

"Long time no see," April squealed in a sickly sweet voice. "I'm sorry for what I did to you, I needed the money for my nursing degree: Please understand!"

"I understand," Ash smirked. "So where's Mom?"

April shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Ash didn't want to admit it, but he felt that it was finally time to let go of the false hope: His mom was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. Ash had covered up for April to save his own mother from a bloody fate. He knew know that his sacrifice had been for nothing. April was going to kill his mother anyway. Perhaps she was already dead before Nancy.

Just as April walked out, she turned over and smiled, "Brock makes a good husband... but I make a better widow."

April was a scheming individual. Her bubbly persona was just a cover-up. April May was a former employer of Team Rocket and she was furious because Giovanni had refused to give her a promotion. Ash had found out everything about her in prison. She may have thought that she was winning, but she hadn't seen anything yet. By telling Ash that she was married to Brock, gave him the indication that she lived in Pewter City where Brock worked as a gym leader.

Ash wanted April to think that he was laughing with her, but he was actually laughing at her.


	6. Captured

"I'm not pressing any charges," Ash roared outside the hospital window where the flock of paparazzi waited outside for him. "Mr. Ishida has done nothing wrong. I jumped on his car to grab his attention. That's all I have to say, goodbye."

  
"What were you thinking?" T.K. asked. "My brother could have gotten arrested."  
  
"T.K.," Ash said with his head down to the floor. "Can I do something for you?"  
  
"Huh? What would that be?"  
  
"I want to... destroy the bastard that really killed your mother."

* * *

  
  
Ash discharged himself from hospital the moment he was free from pain. There was no point pressing charges against Matt because Ash felt that he had brought the injuries out for himself. The sharp pain in his knees and the wounds all backfired. He couldn't move as fast as he would like and he banged himself across the wall, realizing something that he should have figured years ago. He was an idiot.  
  
He thought he knew everything the moment he came out of prison. He found things easy yet difficult at the same time. Even in crowded situations he felt very much alone. Davis drove him back to his apartment but even his own family felt like strangers. Ash closed his eyes throughout the whole journey in the car. Cramps in his arms and legs kept him awake whilst stinging sensations in his back kept him moving.  
  
"I don't know what's going on in your mind," Davis told Ash. "You could have landed yourself back in prison or even die back then."  
  
"Death wouldn't be so much of a bad thing," Ash whispered. He leaned his head against the window and sighed with the cold breeze. "At least I'd see my mom again. But there's someone else who needs to die first."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Davis yelled. "Who is this someone else that needs to die? You're planning to kill somebody and you just got out of prison?" Ash witnessed his cousin's face lit red when Ash nodded his head. "Ash that is the most dumbest thing you could ever do."  
  
"No it isn't," Ash snapped. "I killed a man in prison with a towel."  
  
Davis dropped his mouth and pulled over at the car park. Ash had no experience in driving a car, but he could tell from the viscous steering that the parking was a bit awkward. "You killed somebody with a towel?" Davis roared into Ash's face. "What other fucked up things have you done?"  
  
"That guy deserved it," Ash screamed back. "He was raping my friend in the bath."  
  
"Then why don't you do what normal people do and report it?"  
  
"Then why don't you try spending years for a crime you didn't commit?" Ash gasped and buried his head in his hands. As his voice broke, Ash felt as if he was reliving the moment that he had lost everything. He could have prevented it had he have accepted responsibilities for his mistakes and trust in a criminal. The fact that he knew that Davis was right made him even more frustrated.  
  
"I can't go back," Ash announced. "Not until the person who framed me tells me where my mom's body is, and if she doesn't tell me then she's dead."  
  
"How exactly were you going to kill her?" Davis asked with great curiosity but still with an undertone of disgust. "Were you really going to do this on your own?"  
  
"Thanks Davis, you really are the best cousin I've ever had," Ash said with a smile on his face. He knew that Davis didn't have a clue what he was on about, but was glad that he would eventually have his support. "Stay here!" Ash hopped out of the car and made Davis wait in agonizing anticipation. When Ash came back, he was dragging a huge sack into his car. "By the way Davis," Ash grumbled. "Do you know how to set up a webcam?  
  
"I am not doing anything else for you," Davis whined. "What the fuck is in that bag."  
  
"If I tell you, you'd go to the police," Ash responded. "But I wouldn't bother going to the police or else you'd be arrested to."  
  
"Don't play games with me," David growled with his hand around Ash's neck. "You better not have a dead body in that bag."  
  
"She's just asleep," Ash croaked. He took deep breathes as soon as Davis released his hands. "I'm not the only one she's screwed over."  
  
"That's great," Davis said with his hands clutching onto the wheel. "Let's take her to the police." Ash pulled out a gun from his pocket and aimed the trigger at Davis' temple. "Then again, perhaps not. So where are we going?"  
  
"To your attic."  
  
"My apartment is on the 15th floor," Davis informed Ash. "How are we going to to carry this bag up 15 floors."  
  
"We use the elevator."  
  
"The elevator is always full!"  
  
"It's 2 in the morning," Ash whispered. "Nobody is going to be around."  
  
Davis slammed his head against the wheels in defeat. "Fine! But if the police get involved, you're on your own."  
  
Ash dragged the bag out of the car with little car about the welfare of what was inside. If there was any glass inside, it would have been shattered pieces by now. Davis and Ash together carried the bag into the apartment and through the elevator.  
  
"I spoke to T.K.'s mom on an elevator," Ash told Davis. "She dropped her ring. By the time I got to her room, it was too late." The elevator doors opened at the 15th floor as both men continued to carry the bag into Davis' apartment. "April told me she had my mom locked up in her car. She said if I wanted her to live, that I had to be found guilty of Nancy's murder. I thought by being found guilty it would set my mom free, but it didn't. Because I was found guilty of manslaughter, not murder."  
  
"Do you think there's any chance that Aunt Delia might still be alive?" Davis asked.  
  
Ash shook his head. "She would have come to see me if she was still alive. Nobody's heard from her. There's a part of me that still wants to believe that she's alive, but... that's pretty much impossible."  
  
"She might have been referred to a mental institute or even in the silent witness protection program," Davis suggested. "Maybe she's out there trying to track April down. Maybe she's with your dad."  
  
"I bet April killed her," Ash sighed as he threw the back up to Davis' attic. "She's been missing for ten years, there's no hope now." With revenge in his mind, Ash grabbed a chair from Davis' kitchen and threw it upstairs. He then hopped into the attic and opened the sac and out came April May in her nursing uniform.  
  
Davis shook his head. "I don't understand how she's still asleep after all the noise we've been making." He watched with horror but amusement at the same time as Ash lifted April into sitting position onto the chair. "Ash, this is really starting to look like the set of an amateur porn movie."  
  
"How much porn have you watched then?" Ash asked as he tied April's body up in tight rope and handcuffed her hands behind her back. With another two pairs of handcuffs in the bag, Ash attached each ankle to either side of the chair.  
  
Davis refused to respond to the porn question and went on to ask, "Where did you get all that stuff from?"  
  
"From my friend Brock," Ash replied. "He's the only guy dumb enough to marry this monster. Apparently they're also quite kinky." To finish it all off, Ash blindfolded April and dragged him into the middle of the room.  
  
"I think you've done enough," Davis asked. "Why don't we both go to sleep. It's getting late."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Ash said. "But you will help me set the internet up, right?"  
  
"I can do better than that, I can contact T.K. and Matt for you."


	7. Electric Karma

Watching Davis set up the internet connection and convince T.K. and Matt to talk to Ash on Google Hangouts was one of the longest twenty minutes of his life since his trial. Ash had a clear vision of what he wanted, he wanted Nancy's family to meet the woman that killed her and to watch them suffer. April had only just woken up. She squirmed as she tried and failed to break out of the chains.  
  
"Ash..." April whimpered. "I told you I was sorry."  
  
"Shut up," Ash hissed.  
  
"Alright Ash," Davis announced. "Everything is set up. Is there anything else you want me to do?"  
  
Ash shook his head. "Go. This is going to get rough." On the screen, Ash could see Nancy's two sons sitting on a couch on one side of the screen. Other people that were involved in the call were some of his friends. Ash and Davis had added some of Ash's closest friends from both his pokemon journey and from prison. Even Ash's brother, Silver was there."  
  
"What's going on?" T.K. asked. "Why have you brought all these people onto the chat?"  
  
"I needed an audience," Ash explained as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at April's head.  
  
"Whoa!" Matt shouted. Ash could see Matt move forward closer to the cam on his laptop as Ash dragged April's chair closer to the laptop. "What are you doing to that nurse?"  
  
"Go on," Ash snapped as he spat at April. "Go and introduce yourself."  
  
"My name is..." April squeaked.  
  
Ash smacked April with his bare fist and pulled her hair backwards. "Tell them you're name is April May and tell them all who you are?"  
  
"My name is April May, and I am a nurse."  
  
Ash slapped her again. "Tell them the truth! Tell them you're a murderer."  
  
April burst into tears. "My name is April May, and I'm a murderer."  
  
Ash looked up to the camera as he pinned the gun into April's chest. "When April was 23, she was arrested for wire-tapping. She made a false testimony of how she saw a lawyer being killed by her youngster sister, when in fact it was her boss that committed the murder. April had a good lawyer, so she was only sentenced to six months in prison. She had been working as a secretary for an evil cooperation that blackmailed people. When she was released, she wanted as much money as possible to continue her nursing degree. She joined the criminal organisation called Team Rocket, but when my father refused to give her a promotion, she kidnapped my mother."  
  
"Don't say it," April begged. "Just let me go, I'll confess to everything."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that," Molly said. "My mother went missing not long after you were sentenced and we never found her body."  
  
Ash shook her head and muttered into April's ear, "You tricked me once. I won't let you trick me twice. Do you remember what you told me when I was in hospital. You said that my friend Brock made a good husband, but you make a better widow."  
  
"PIKA! PIKA!" Pikachu cried out.  
  
Startled, Ash dropped the gun and ran over to Pikachu. "What is it Pikachu?" Pikachu with tears in his eyes handed Ash a pink notebook out of April's handbag. With curiosity, Ash skimmed through the pages and just within a few pages in, he was mortified of the graphic details of her planned murders and her plans to destroy the reputation of certain males, including Ash's friend, Ritchie.  
  
"You better not go routing into my stuff," April roared. "And tell that hideous rodent to step away from my diary!"  
  
Ash slammed the door shut and marched over to April. Pikachu followed him with sparks flying through his red cheeks. He tossed the diary onto the desk next to the laptop. "You remember Ritchie?" Ash screamed into April's ear.  
  
"That useless twerp?" April giggled. "He was just as silly as you were."  
  
Ash grabbed her neck from behind and slammed her head against the table. "You told the police that Ritchie had raped you. Ritchie lost his virginity in prison. You stole Ritchie's dreams away with your petty lies." He pinned April and her chair to the ground and jumped away. "Pikachu! Use thunder on this monster."  
  
Pikachu being a loyal friend to Ash, gladly used the greatest thunder attack he could ever think off. All the yellow bolts hit April so hard that the chair had broken. She had screamed in agonizing pain and Ash glanced at the laptop. It was fortunate that the laptop was not harmed as April rolled around helpless on the floor. Her once straight pink hair had transformed into black rats tails.  
  
Everyone who was watching on the other side of the screen remained silent in horror. Ash moved the laptop down so they could all see April gasping for life on the floor. He then crouched over and glared into April's eyes.  
  
"I killed somebody in prison," Ash whispered. "One of Ritchie's abusers asked him to meet him at the baths so I followed them and I was horrified with what I saw. I grabbed a towel and strangled the rapist to death. Ritchie was executed for my crime. I wake up every morning with regret, I allowed my friend to be executed for a crime he didn't commit. I don't how you could live with yourself knowing what terrible things you've done but somebody else paid the consequence?"  
  
"Rape her!" Taki begged through the camera. "She's always claiming she's been raped. Let her feel it for real."  
  
"I don't want to see that," T.K. told Taki.  
  
"How about cutting her hand off and putting it in the microwave?" One of Ash's former inmates roared. Eric Cartman was a plump American guy who spent a brief time in prison. He was notorious for his song, Japanese Prison Blues.  
  
"How is she still alive after that electric attack?" T.K. asked.  
  
"It all changes from here," Ash muttered. He looked up to the camera and then removed his head. "I'm sorry everyone, by covering for April, I let more people die."


	8. Name Cleared

Ash and Pikachu left Davis' apartment early that morning. The first port of call was to the prosecutor that forced him to confess even though the detective in charge of the case was insisting that there was another person involved in Nancy's death. Any trials due to take place would not have started until later on in the morning. Ash was convinced that Franziska would still be in her office as she was known to be bright and early planning a strategy to win at court.

Ash had assumed his trial was one of Franziska's most easiest cases. The prosecutor was so obsessed with perfection and winning, that Ash wasn't even sure if Franziska knew that Ash was really innocent. Ash had no intention of killing her though, as she was just doing her job.

"Maybe Franziska is a different person," Ash told Pikachu. "Different to how she was ten years ago."

Walking into the grand décor of the court brought Ash painful memories of the time where he stood on trial. Franziska was known for her quest for perfection and would do whatever it took to win. When all the evidence was against him, Franziska forced him to confess to an attempted robbery to make the case stick. He remembered the crack of her whip onto the poor detective when he suggested that Ash could have been innocent. It had happened a decade ago, but it felt as if it was only yesterday when Franziska made an x sign with both her index fingers to show the way that Nancy had been murdered. The screams in the room when Ash crept from behind the dummy and slashed it whilst running about with fake blood.

When Ash entered Franziska's office, one thing that stood out for him was a oval shaped picture frame with Franziska, a young woman with strange hair and two young girls in-between them. Franziska slammed the photo down onto her notebook to grab Ash's attention. Ash tossed April May's notebook onto her desk. "I thought confessing to Nancy's murder would save my mom, but it didn't make a difference. While I was in prison, she killed more people."

Fransizka flicked through the book and her eyes opened at the sight of some of the violent pictures and died up blood. In one of the plastic sleeves, she picked up a memory card smaller than an average fingernail.

"Some of these are either unsolved cases or ones where we've got the wrong person," Franziska muttered with her eyes wide open in horror. "Mr. Ishida called the chief prosecutor and demanded that the case was reinvestigated. Whatever is on this card could clear your name."

"What about your perfect record?" Ash asked.

"I lost that years ago," Franziska replied as she inserted the card into her laptop. "It's time to seek the truth."

Ash leaned over the desk and watched the card load up on Franziska's laptop. The files appeared to be videos, and Ash gasped where he saw a video clip featuring himself. "What am I doing on there?"

The video loaded and Ash saw the last few seconds of Nancy's life and as her body hit the floor he saw himself getting splattered in blood. Ash found himself reminded of why trusting April was the biggest mistake in his life and why he wanted to kill her so badly. He saw himself going over to check on her and only getting covered in blood and then the camera zoomed in as April arms covered the screen, forcing Ash to hold to sword. Ash walked away from the computer screen and closed his eyes.

"Your mom is in my car. If you want your precious mom to live, you must confess to killing Nancy. And if you're found guilty then I will free her, but it you are found not guilty then I will kill everyone that is precious to you. Oh Ash, you're such a silly boy."

Ash grabbed Pikachu and scurried out of Franziska's office and back outside. "If that doesn't clear my name of Nancy's murder, then nothing will." Ash yelled as he sprinted back to Davis' department. Suddenly, Ash halted as his feet steered towards the nearest pokemon centre. He recognised the large buildings with red roofs anywhere.

The automatic doors invited him in as Ash marched over to the nearest PC available. He went onto the storage system and withdrew some pokemon. As much as he wanted to call Misty to let him know that he was alright, he wasn't exactly sure if he was okay at all. And he didn't want Misty to involved and Ash had made a vow to himself that he would not return to his family until April was as dead as a doornail.

He didn't understand why it was so hard for him to kill April. She had no remorse or trouble killing all of her victims. For his revenge plan to work, he knew that he had to make the right choice in pokemon. The pokemon had to be the ones where he had formed the closest bond. Pikachu was the first choice, and he loved all his pokemon to bits, but he knew he had to be wise. However, he was satisfied with his choices.

As soon as Ash left the pokemon centre he took a brisk walk to the shops and purchased some weapons and a pair of scissors. After leaving the store, he bumped into Sasuke Uchiha, a man that he knew from prison. He was wrongly convicted of being a terrorist and whilst falling ill in prison, Ash donated his other kidney to him.

"Hey Sasuke," Ash said. "It's good to see you."

"The same to you," Sasuke responded with a light smile on his face. "I hear you've been busy."

"I have," Ash replied. "I've got her. Just getting the final props in."

"So you're planning to silence her?"

Ash nodded. "Of course, I just don't know how to do it. I'm spoiled for choice. Will you be watching tonight?"

"Depends," Sasuke replied. "I'm still on my missions. I can't guarantee I'll have internet. But I know a lot of people from the klink are going to watch it."

"Well good luck," Ash said with a smile on his face. "Hope to see you again."

Ash and Sasuke went their separate ways as Ash flipped his pokegear out of his pocket and sent messages to everyone who watched him online expose April. Ash felt as if he was coming close to the finishing line, by midnight he would be free of April's chains. When he entered Davis' apartment, he locked the door and left the keys in. He crawled into the attic. Once he set everything up, he expected no distractions.

He chucked the bag on the floor as April glared at him on the floor. He tossed five pokeballs in the air as Ash cried out, "Come on out you guys!"


	9. All Over

The other five pokemon Ash had out with him were Bayleef, Charizard, Greninja, Goodra and Sceptile. Ash was amazed that even though he had been gone from their lives for ten years that he could still feel their loyalty and friendship. If he was allowed, and if there was room, he would have brought all his pokemon over to see so he could explain for himself the chaos that brought his pokemon career to a lengthy haitus.

"Ash," April gasped. She gulped as the present of the slime dribbling down Goodra's cheek. "I thought you released Goodra."

"I did," Ash responded. The gun appeared to be glued to Ash's hand as the barrel aimed perfectly at April's forehead."But Goodra came back to me." He walked backwards towards the laptop and crouched down and opened up the laptop. Within a few clicks the faces of those present in the previous chat were back online again. "It's strange that everyone watching this was relative or a friend of at least one of your victims." Ash muttered. "Molly?" Ash called for one of his childhood friends. "Did they find your mom's body?"

"They did," Molly cried out. She was seen being comforted by her teddiursa and flaaffy as she broke into tears. "There was almost nothing left of her. If it wasn't for the notebook you handed in to the authorities, she would never had been found."

"We saw the video," Matt told Ash. "I'm sorry for doubting you before. Now I know why Davis always insisted that you were innocent."

"Is my brother online?"

"No," T.K. replied. "And Davis is away too."

"You can't escape any-more," Ash hissed at April as he sprinted towards her and punched her between the chest. "They found the bodies of six people you murdered." He went on his knees and dragged April's hair towards his knees. "Where did you bury my mother?"

"Huh?"

"Don't use that fake honey voice at me," Ash growled. "I'll never forget what you did to Nancy. When I read your dairy, I was horrified of what I had read. You beheaded Mrs. Hale and burred her remains in Digglet Cave. You pushed Professor Elm into a waterfall in Seafoam Islands. You poisoned Harvey and framed May's friend, Drew for it. While you were married to Brock, you started an online relationship with Miss Cartman... and you killed her the first night you slept together. When the Nurse Joy of Pewter City discovered you trying to dispose of her body you shot her down."

Ash's pokemon cry in disgust and banged their feet so hard that that the whole floor wobbled. As much as they wanted to rip the killer to shreds, they would not do so unless under command by Ash. Ash released the pink hair from April's scalp by scissors. "If I cut one strand of hair for every person that you caused hell, you would be bold all over. You may have only murdered seven people by yourself, but you made others lives hell too. Remember when you called Dawn fat? She starved herself to the point that she had to go to hospital. All those people who killed themselves because you helped an evil man do so? Even more evil than my father! And those men you cheated on and betrayed like Taki, Brock, Ritchie and me. You call yourself a nurse? You probably more people in the hospital!"

"STOP IT!" April screamed trying to use the force of both legs to kick Ash away from her. She rolled over to the wall by the laptop as her tired face glared at Ash. "Brock will save me and you'll rot in jail. You're still a silly boy."

"Bayleef," Ash demanded. "Use vine whip to send April back to where she was. Greninja, scatter spikes around April. Sceptile, use your hidden power freeze April's legs. Goodra, use toxic to cripple April's health. Pikachu use thunderbolt! Charizard, when they've all finished I'm going to cut off a piece of April's body and I want you to burn it."

"WHAT!" Matt gasped. "Ash isn't that too much."

"Of course it isn't," Molly screamed. "The nasty woman should have a taste of her own medicine."

"I agree," Serena shouted. "You go Ash! Make sure that woman never harms a living soul again."

Greninja summoned sharp black spikes at the centre of the room whilst Bayleef dragged April's bottom onto the spikes and dropped her so she would be sitting on the spikes. Sceptile's hidden power unleashed a wave of ice that covered the bottom half of April's body. Pikachu's thunderbolt sent April's upper body jittering in all directions as Goodra bounced over and gave April her own personal brand of toxic.

Ash got out a sword, grabbed April's arm and in a clean swipe cut her hand away from her wrist. When the hand dropped to the floor he caught it with a tip of his sword and waved it inside the flames of Charizard's tail where the hand turned to ashes.

"Now," Ash said with a low-pitched voice. "Will you tell me where you buried my mom?"

"I... I n-n-never buried her..."

"What did you do after I was arrested? Ash cried out. "She was innocent. She did nothing wrong. I covered for you to save my mom's life, but you went and killed her anyway.

April was overwhelmed by the physical pain. With tears rolling down her eyes she whispered to Ash, "Kill me!"

Ash shook his head. As tempted as he was to pull the trigger on April's head and get everything over and done it, everything had changed. He was reminded of Ritchie and all the pain he was put through because of her but also what Ash was responsible for. "Some of these deaths could have been avoided if I had been honest the first time. And Ritchie would have still been alive."

"Dude!" Eric shouted over his laptop's microphone. "How is this bitch still alive? Just shoot her in the head and problem solved."

Ash pushed the gun against April's eyes as his fingers curled against the trigger. Every time he tried to shoot, he couldn't because his instinct kept changing every minute.

"HEY!" Ash could hear banging from the attic door. It was a female voice, and one that Ash knew so well. "Ash! Can you hear me?"

"Misty?"

"Don't shoot!" Misty begged. "It's not worth it. You'll only end up going back to prison."

"Misty..." Ash lowered his head and turned his back towards the door. "I made you raise our child alone."

"So?" Misty snapped. "What were you going to do once you killed April? Go back to jail."

"I know I'm going back to jail," Ash announced. "I killed people in prison."

"You've already done your time," Misty cried. "I don't want to lose you again and besides, Silver has found your mom."

Ash opened his eyes and dropped the gun and opened the door to Misty's welcoming arms. "They found my mom?"

"They did," Misty said. "She's alive. She's just in hospital but they're expecting her to make a recovery."

"I'm sorry for leaving again," Ash wept. "I don't deserve you. I didn't want you to get involved."

"We should ring the authorities and send April to jail," Misty advised.

"Look out!" T.K. cried out.

Suddenly they heard planks of wood exploding on the floor. Ash and Misty looked behind them and saw Bayleef's vines tightly wrapped around April's neck as her body was being slammed against the floor. When Bayleef released April there was no doubt that she was dead.

"April was just about shoot you both," Matt said. "If Bayleef hadn't have intervened then you would have both been gone."

Suddenly Ash's vision became engulfed by light. His vengeance was complete and it seemed that all his pain was finally over.


	10. Epilogue

Two weeks after April's death, Ash returned to Cerulean City with Misty and Delta. April's body had been destroyed and Ash and his pokemon had cleaned and tidied up the attic in Davis' apartment as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone else had seemed to have returned to their normal whilst Ash was still trying to figure out what normal was. November had come to an end and it was truly becoming a winter wonderland with blankets of white snow.

Ash had visited his mother in hospital and made peace with his father and brother. The majority of the conversation with his family was mainly about how well his pokemon and his daughter had turned out to be despite his time in prison. They also spoke of Giovanni's change and the impact it has had on Team Rocket's reputation. Instead of stealing pokemon and using them for profit, they are now adopting abandoned pokemon and working with scientists to create new medicines. Of course Team Rocket were still after making the most profit as possible but the change was welcoming. It meant that Jessie and James would no longer be trying to kidnap Pikachu.

He had to return to court to be officially acquitted of all charges. The police began their search for April May. Ash knew the search was in vain, but none of the authorities were made aware of what happened in his cousin's attic: he knew it was for the best. He had made mistakes and he knew that it would take a long time to make atonements for all the bad things he had done, but he knew he could start with his family.

Ash was given an official apology and a generous compensation fee, but nothing would ever replace the years he had spent away from his family, missing out on his daughter growing up and failing to be there for his mother when she was sick. He didn't even know that she was poorly and for him not to be informed about it upset him.

Ash had called Brock last week and he was looking rough. Brock insisted that he was fine and kept smiling, but Ash had a feeling that deep down he was missing April despite the fact that she wanted to kill him. Brock was fathering all of April's children, but Ash knew that anybody out there could be the biological father of the kids. April may have been history but her spirit still left a depressing after-taste.

Misty and Ash had mainly stayed at the gym. It wasn't long until Delta would be ten years old and she would be starting her own pokemon journey. For now, Delta was happy riding on Bayleef around the Christmas tree as Ash watched from other side of the pool. Delta dived and jumped back out of the water with a smile on her face. "Daddy!" Delta cried out. "You should do it too."

"Jump in?" Ash asked.

"Yeah!" Delta squealed. "Swimming is so fun."

"I haven't been swimming for over ten years," Ash told Delta. "I might sink."

"You'll never know until you try," Delta insisted. "I love how the water makes you feel weightless and free."

Ash closed his eyes, turned his back towards his daughter and fell back. He allowed the water to push him further to the bottom of the pool. Delta was right, it was the first time in years that he felt so weightless and free. He felt he could almost sleep and never wake up. He had sunk, but he didn't care. He felt something thin against his hips moving him in a diagonal direction before splashing onto the surface.

"Daddy!" Delta screamed. Ash was struggling to breath as he gasped for air. "Oh thank goodness you're alive. I thought for a second I was going to lose you." Delta bought her dad's upper body out of the water and hugged him tightly.

Ash felt he had purified, not by the water but by his daughter's love.


End file.
